CVE-2025-22736 Overview
CVE-2025-22736 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in the Saad Iqbal User Management plugin for WordPress. The flaw stems from incorrect privilege assignment [CWE-266] and affects all plugin versions up to and including 1.2. An authenticated attacker with low privileges can leverage the issue to elevate their account to a higher role, gaining administrative control over the WordPress site.
Critical Impact
Authenticated users with low-level access can escalate privileges to administrator, leading to full site compromise including content modification, plugin installation, and database access.
Affected Products
- Saad Iqbal User Management plugin (user-management) for WordPress
- All versions from initial release through 1.2
- WordPress installations using the vulnerable plugin
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-01-15 - CVE-2025-22736 published to NVD
- 2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-22736
Vulnerability Analysis
The User Management plugin assigns user privileges without properly verifying whether the requesting user is authorized to grant them. This Incorrect Privilege Assignment weakness, classified under [CWE-266], allows authenticated attackers to manipulate role assignment logic and grant themselves elevated capabilities. The vulnerability requires only low-privilege authentication and can be triggered over the network without user interaction.
Successful exploitation results in complete loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the WordPress site. An attacker who reaches administrator privileges can install arbitrary plugins, modify themes, execute PHP, and access all site data.
Root Cause
The plugin fails to enforce capability checks when modifying user roles or assigning privileges. The code path responsible for assigning user permissions does not validate that the caller possesses the promote_users or equivalent capability before granting elevated roles. This logic gap permits a subscriber-level account to acquire administrator capabilities through the plugin's exposed functionality.
Attack Vector
The attack proceeds over the network against any WordPress site running User Management <= 1.2. An attacker first registers or authenticates as a low-privilege user. The attacker then sends a crafted request to the plugin endpoint responsible for user or role management. Because the plugin does not verify the requester's authorization, the request succeeds and elevates the attacker's account. Once administrator access is achieved, the attacker can pivot to arbitrary code execution by uploading a malicious plugin or modifying theme files.
Technical details and proof-of-concept information are available in the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-22736
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected role changes in the wp_usermeta table, particularly accounts transitioning from subscriber to administrator.
- New administrator accounts created shortly after low-privilege user sessions.
- Plugin or theme uploads originating from accounts that previously lacked administrative capability.
Detection Strategies
- Audit the WordPress wp_usermeta table for wp_capabilities values that do not align with expected user roles.
- Inspect web server access logs for POST requests to plugin endpoints under /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or /wp-admin/admin-post.php referencing the user-management plugin.
- Compare historical user role assignments against current state to identify unauthorized changes.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable WordPress audit logging to record role and capability changes in real time.
- Alert on creation of administrator accounts outside of approved change windows.
- Monitor plugin and theme file modification events on the file system for unexpected writes following user role changes.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-22736
Immediate Actions Required
- Deactivate the User Management plugin until a patched version is confirmed available.
- Review all WordPress user accounts and revoke unauthorized administrator privileges.
- Force password resets for all users and invalidate active sessions.
- Restrict new user registration if enabled, to reduce the pool of accounts available for exploitation.
Patch Information
At the time of CVE publication, no fixed version had been identified beyond 1.2. Site operators should consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the latest remediation status and apply any vendor-released update as soon as it is available.
Workarounds
- Remove the user-management plugin from the WordPress installation if a patch is unavailable.
- Apply a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block requests targeting the vulnerable plugin endpoints.
- Restrict access to /wp-admin/ paths by IP allowlist where feasible.
- Disable open user registration in WordPress general settings to limit exposure.
# Disable the vulnerable plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate user-management
wp plugin delete user-management
# Audit administrator accounts
wp user list --role=administrator --fields=ID,user_login,user_email,user_registered
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
